1. Field of the Invention and Related Art
The present invention relates to an image forming method having a developing process, a transfer process and a cleaning process.
Because of the recent tendency in size reduction and in the rise of the operational speed in electrophotographic apparatus there is a desire to shorten the circumference of the photosensitive member and to raise the rotational speed at the outer periphery of the photosensitive member.
However, use of a photosensitive member of the type having a short circumference at a high speed causes the time taken for developed toner to be brought to the transfer step and the cleaning step to be much reduced. Therefore, little or no reduction of the charge on the surface of the photosensitive member and on the developed toner takes place until the toner is introduced into the transfer step and the cleaning step. Hence, the adhesion of the toner to the surface of the photosensitive member is too strong, causing problems to arise in that the transfer ratio is unsatisfactory, the desired density cannot be realized in the formed image, and the excess toner to be processed increases excessively.
What is worse, the residual toner that has not been transferred cannot easily be removed, causing a problem that the toner undesirably passes through a cleaner or another problem that the toner adheres to the surface of the photosensitive member.